US focused stock portfolio with strong tech tilt and efficient risk balance across a few broad ETFs
Report created on Aug 3, 2026Risk profile
4/7
Diversification profile
3/5
Positions
-
VT Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
VTI - US9229087690 50.00% -
QQ Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
QQQM - US46138G6492 25.00% -
SC Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
SCHD - US8085247976 15.00% -
VX Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
VXUS - US9219097683 10.00%
This portfolio is built from four broad stock ETFs, with everything invested in equities. Half sits in a total US stock market fund, a quarter in a Nasdaq‑100 ETF, 15% in a US dividend ETF, and 10% in a total international stock ETF. So the structure is simple but concentrated in a small number of building blocks. That kind of simplicity makes it easier to understand what drives returns: mainly the US market and large growth names, with a secondary role for dividend payers and international stocks. The mix lines up with a “balanced” risk label because it’s diversified across funds, but the 100% equity exposure still means meaningful ups and downs.
Growth
Over the period from late 2020 to mid‑2026, $1,000 in this portfolio grew to about $2,170. That works out to a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.37%, which is like asking “if the journey were smooth, what yearly speed gets me from start to finish?” The worst peak‑to‑trough drop, or max drawdown, was about ‑26%, taking 10 months to fall and 14 months to fully recover. Compared with benchmarks, it slightly lagged the US market but beat the global market, reflecting its strong US tilt. Only 26 days made up 90% of returns, highlighting how a small number of good days did most of the heavy lifting.
Projection
The forward projection uses a Monte Carlo simulation, which basically reruns many possible futures based on how similar portfolios behaved in the past. Think of it as rolling the dice 1,000 times with realistic odds rather than guessing a single outcome. The median result turns $1,000 into around $2,766 over 15 years, an annualized return of about 8.1%. But the range is wide: roughly $1,030 to $7,694 between the 5th and 95th percentiles. Around 73% of paths end positive. These numbers aren’t predictions; they’re a way of visualizing how uncertain future returns are, even when starting from strong historical data.
Asset classes
- Stocks 100%
All of this portfolio is in stocks, with no bonds or cash-like assets in the mix. That means the main growth engine is company earnings and stock market sentiment rather than interest payments from bonds. A 100% equity allocation often brings higher long‑term return potential than mixed stock‑bond portfolios but also sharper swings in value, especially during market stress. This fits with the “balanced” label largely because the stocks are spread across broad index funds instead of narrow niches, not because the asset classes themselves are conservative. In practice, day‑to‑day moves will feel similar to owning diversified stock market funds rather than a blend with stabilizing fixed income.
Sectors
- Technology 37%
- Financials 10%
- Health Care 10%
- Telecommunications 9%
- Consumer Discretionary 9%
- Industrials 9%
- Consumer Staples 7%
- Energy 4%
- Basic Materials 2%
- Utilities 2%
- Real Estate 1%
Sector‑wise, technology is the biggest slice at 37%, well above what many broad global or US indices hold. Financials, health care, telecoms, consumer sectors, and industrials are all in the high single digits, while areas like utilities, materials, energy, and real estate are relatively small. This tilt toward tech is largely driven by the Nasdaq‑100 ETF and the tech giants sitting at the top of the US index funds. A tech‑heavy profile can benefit strongly when innovation and growth companies lead the market but can also add extra volatility when interest rates rise or investors rotate toward more defensive or value‑oriented areas.
Regions
- North America 90%
- Europe Developed 4%
- Asia Developed 2%
- Japan 2%
- Asia Emerging 1%
Geographically, about 90% of the portfolio is tied to North America, with only modest exposure to Europe, Japan, developed Asia, and a small slice of emerging Asia. That’s a much stronger home bias than global indices, where the US usually makes up a bit more than half of total market value. The international ETF brings some global balance, but its 10% weight limits its impact. A heavy US focus has worked very well over the last decade, which helps explain the portfolio’s solid performance versus the global market. At the same time, it means results remain closely linked to one economy, one currency, and one policy environment.
Market capitalization
- Mega-cap 38%
- Large-cap 36%
- Mid-cap 19%
- Small-cap 4%
- Micro-cap 1%
By market capitalization, this portfolio leans strongly toward the biggest companies: about 38% in mega‑caps and 36% in large‑caps. Mid‑caps and smaller names play a secondary role. That pattern is typical of capitalization‑weighted index funds, where the largest companies naturally dominate. The benefit is exposure to well‑established firms with deep liquidity and broad analyst coverage. The trade‑off is that smaller companies, which can behave differently and sometimes offer higher long‑term growth, have a relatively small influence on overall returns. In practice, this means portfolio behavior should closely track the big, headline names in the US market rather than the “smaller end” of the universe.
True holdings
-
NV NVIDIA Corporation 5.12%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AA Apple Inc. 4.96%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MS Microsoft Corporation 3.30%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AM Amazon.com Inc 2.64%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class A 2.25%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
MU Micron Technology Inc 2.03%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AV Broadcom Inc 1.99%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
GO Alphabet Inc Class C 1.89%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
ME Meta Platforms Inc. 1.51%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
-
AM Advanced Micro Devices Inc 0.91%
Part of fund(s):- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
- Top 10 total 26.60%
Looking through into the ETFs’ top holdings, a lot of risk is concentrated in a handful of familiar names: NVIDIA, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, AMD, and similar large tech-related firms. Several of these show up in multiple ETFs, so their effective weight is higher than it may appear when just glancing at each fund separately. Overlap is likely understated because only the top‑10 positions are included here. This “hidden concentration” matters because when these giants move together, they can drive a big share of overall portfolio returns, even though you technically own thousands of securities through the funds.
Factors
Factor exposure here is very much market‑like. Across value, size, momentum, quality, yield, and low volatility, all scores sit in the neutral band around 50%. Factor investing looks at these characteristics as “ingredients” that help explain why assets behave the way they do, but this portfolio doesn’t lean heavily into or away from any single ingredient. That means its behavior should broadly resemble a wide stock market, rather than, for example, being skewed toward cheap value stocks, high‑yield names, or low‑volatility defensives. This well‑balanced factor profile is a strength, as it avoids over‑dependence on one style working at any given time.
Risk contribution
-
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 50.00% 50.5% -
Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF
Weight: 25.00% 31.4% -
Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
Weight: 15.00% 10.0% -
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares
Weight: 10.00% 8.0%
Risk contribution shows how much each holding adds to the portfolio’s overall ups and downs, which can differ from its simple weight. The total US stock market ETF is 50% of the allocation and contributes about 51% of the risk, so it behaves roughly in line with its size. The Nasdaq‑100 ETF stands out: at 25% weight, it drives over 31% of risk, meaning it punches above its weight in volatility. The dividend ETF and international ETF contribute less risk than their weights might suggest. Overall, the top three holdings account for around 92% of total risk, so most of the ride is coming from a few broad, but still concentrated, positions.
Risk vs. return
This chart shows the Efficient Frontier, calculated using your current assets with different allocation combinations. It highlights the best balance between risk and return based on historical data. "Efficient" portfolios maximize returns for a given risk or minimize risk for a given return. Portfolios below the curve are less efficient. This is informational and not a recommendation to buy or sell any assets.
Click on the colored dots to explore allocations.
On the risk‑versus‑return chart, this portfolio sits right on or very close to the efficient frontier. The efficient frontier represents the best possible trade‑off between risk (volatility) and expected return using only the current holdings but with different weightings. The current Sharpe ratio of 0.66 is lower than the optimal mix’s 0.93 and the minimum‑variance portfolio’s 0.88, but the key point is that the chosen allocation is still considered efficient. In other words, given these four ETFs, the portfolio is already making good use of them in balancing return and volatility, without obvious signs of wasted risk.
Dividends
- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.50%
- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 3.10%
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 1.10%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 2.60%
- Weighted yield (per year) 1.40%
The total dividend yield comes out around 1.4%, a blend of a higher‑yielding dividend ETF, the more modest yields from the broad US and international funds, and the relatively low yield of the Nasdaq‑100 ETF. Dividends are the cash distributions companies pay out, which can be an important part of total return over time, especially when reinvested. In this portfolio, capital growth from price changes is clearly the main driver, while income plays a supporting role. The dedicated dividend ETF adds a noticeable income tilt relative to pure growth portfolios, but the strong tech and growth exposure keeps the overall yield moderate rather than high.
Ongoing product costs
- Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF 0.15%
- Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF 0.06%
- Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF Shares 0.03%
- Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF Shares 0.05%
- Weighted costs total (per year) 0.07%
Costs are impressively low, with a total expense ratio (TER) of about 0.07% across the portfolio. TER is the annual fee charged by funds, expressed as a percentage of assets; it’s like a small drag on performance that repeats every year. For context, 0.07% means paying $0.70 per year on each $1,000 invested, which is very lean compared with many active funds. Keeping fees this low helps more of the portfolio’s gross return show up in your net results, and that effect compounds over time. From a cost standpoint, this structure is doing exactly what you’d hope from an index‑heavy approach.
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